The development and application of 2-phase switched reluctance drives

When selecting or designing a switched reluctance (SR) system for a particular application, one of the first decisions that has to be made is that of the phase number to be used. It is well-known that SR systems can use any phase number from 1 upwards, though systems with more than 7 phases are rare. For high-power and/or industrial applications, 3-phase systems predominate, though 4-phase drives are well documented. Higher phase numbers have been advocated for some specialised applications. For low-power drives requiring only a modest performance level, 1-phase systems are often selected. This is particularly the case for domestic appliance drives, where cost sensitivity is extreme. By contrast, 2-phase systems have been virtually neglected. Though some authors report on the use of a 2-phase machine in their investigations of a particular phenomenon, there is very little work published on the design or application of 2-phase systems per se. This paper reports on the application of 2-phase SR Drives(R) in an industrial application at much higher power levels.